Owings Mills/Reisterstown

Owings Mills, a white-collar community, includes condos, single-family homes, townhouses, restaurants and there is lots of new business development coming. Commuters use a variety of transportation options, including I-695, I-795, and the Metro subway system and public buses.  Reisterstown is next to Owings Mills along I-795.  In this area of town, you can find an Historic Main Street community of single-family homes and family-owned shops.

The area contains dozens of shopping centers and office buildings, creating a convenient environment for living, working and running errands.  The area Recreation Council offers a plethora of organized and recreational activities for residents of all ages from basketball, football, softball/baseball and soccer to dance, cheerleading, juggling and karate.  The Reisterstown Area Recreation Council also has one of the longest standing lacrosse leagues in the area.  Construction of new urban projects in the area includes more housing units, shopping centers, and office space.

In the past few decades, the Jewish community has expanded further outside the city of Baltimore to other more distant northwestern suburbs, including Owings Mills and Reisterstown.  Owings Mills has 12,100 Jewish residents in 5,300 Jewish households and Reisterstown has 7,000 Jewish residents in 2,500 Jewish households.  Reisterstown and Owings Mills residents are surrounded by options of all denominations for services as well as the easily accessible programs and activities offered through the Owings Mills JCC.  Owings Mills and Reisterstown are both suburbs of the City of Baltimore and residents can easily access downtown Baltimore via the Northwestern Expressway, I-795, in about 30 minutes.   

Pikesville/ Mount Washington

Pikesville is the home of many of the region’s largest and most established synagogues and day schools.  Out of Baltimore’s 100,000 Jews, the majority of the more observant residents live in the Pikesville area.  It is easy to find kosher supermarkets, restaurants, bakeries, and butchers along the main drag of Park Heights Avenue and Reisterstown Road.  Pikesville is the largest area of Jewish residence with 31,100 Jewish residents in 13,000 Jewish households.  Pikesville is a quaint commercial district that brings big-name stores together with neighborhood shops.  

Mount Washington is a small and mostly residential zone, though it has two commercial areas.  Mount Washington Village, containing several restaurants and stores, as well as the Baltimore Light Rail's Mount Washington Station, and Mount Washington Mill, a refurbished textile mill now housing a Whole Foods, Starbucks, and other stores and offices, commonly referred to as Historic Mount Washington.  Mount Washington is mostly within the Baltimore City limits, but residents and businesses of many nearby neighborhoods in Baltimore County think of themselves as being part of Mount Washington.  Mount Washington is also home of one of the most prestigious swimming clubs in the world, the North Baltimore Aquatic Center home to many Olympic swimmers including Katie Hoff and Michael Phelps.  Mt. Washington has 6,600 Jewish residents in 2,800 Jewish households.  Residents can easily access all the Jewish resources located in neighboring Pikesville which is considered the center of Baltimore’s Jewish Community.

Towson/Timonium/Lutherville

Lying north of the city of Baltimore, Towson/Lutherville/Timonium is an up and coming area for Jews in Baltimore.  Timonium is conveniently located off I-83 and is home to well-established neighborhoods and busy shopping centers, as well as the Maryland State Fairgrounds.  Towson is suburbia with an urban appeal, thanks to a thriving downtown, shopping areas like Towson Town Center and The Shops at Kenilworth, restaurants, condominiums, local colleges and detached homes along tree-lined streets. Access to I-695 and I-83 make Towson very commuter-friendly.  Lutherville’s past life as a summer resort area is captured in many Victorian structures. I-83 offers quick commuter access to destinations north and south.

A plethora of shopping centers and restaurants can be found among the older colonial-style residences as well as dispersed throughout more modern neighborhoods.  While the core area of Towson has remained the same, there is a lot of development in the surrounding areas of Lutherville and Timonium.  All three areas are easily accessible by public transportation and about 40 minutes from downtown Baltimore.    
 

Towson has some of Baltimore County's largest shopping areas and has eclectic entertainment venues.  The Recher Theatre, located in downtown Towson, is a popular concert venue for local and national acts.  Towson Center and Unitas Stadium at Towson University are both main destinations for athletic and other events in the area.  Towson Town Center is Baltimore County's largest indoor mall with four stories of shops and a parking garage.  Nearby is Allegheny Avenue, the main street of downtown Towson, which offers a variety of local eateries.  A new outdoor mall, Towson Square, is currently under construction. The initial phase of Towson Square is scheduled to open in 2013 and to be completed in 2014.  The Shops at Kenilworth is a small indoor mall located on Kenilworth Drive.  Towson Marketplace is a major shopping area near Joppa Road, Goucher Boulevard, and Putty Hill Avenue with big-box stores and supermarkets, including a Wal-Mart, Target, Marshall's, Sports Authority and Bed Bath & Beyond.